


A Christmas Party for Two

by ReferenceZero



Series: Auld Lang Syne [2]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Auld Lang Syne, Bromance, Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Relationship Issues, Slight Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22463944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReferenceZero/pseuds/ReferenceZero
Summary: Marco takes up Star's invitation to attend her's and Tom's Christmas Party at their house. Marco is a tad nervous about how things will play out with people he hasn't talked to in ten years as he reappears from his decade of absence.
Relationships: Marco Diaz & Tom Lucitor, Star Butterfly & Marco Diaz, Star Butterfly & Tom Lucitor
Series: Auld Lang Syne [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616296
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	A Christmas Party for Two

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all who read my first story, and especially to all of you who left comments and encouragement for me! They touched me deeply and made me more excited than I would've thought! I didn't plan on making this a series, especially since this fandom is a bit of a dead one at the moment, but I decided to at least give it a shot and see what happens. No promises of a schedule or speed, but I'm hoping to write a few more of these stories and try and do some shorter ones as well in the near future. Thanks again for your support and enjoy!

“Alright let’s see here…” Marco muttered to himself, pulling out his phone as Nachos hovered in the air. “Address is 0492 Mewni Court Drive…and if what Terra Connect is telling me is accurate… the house should be at a 248° heading about 5 klicks out…”

Nachos strong flapping made Marco buoy up and down a good couple feet as she waited for Marco to figure out which direction Star’s house was. However, Nachos already knew exactly where Star’s house was—she had picked up her scent from the night prior when Marco had come home in a wet daze, and it had taken her a few solid seconds to remember where that scent came from. Star’s house wasn’t too far away, the scent was getting progressively stronger even at their altitude and Nachos was pretty sure she could see it from where they were at—it was kinda hard to miss to be honest. It looked like the only house on a hill overlooking a lake, and you could see the moon’s reflection glistening across the calm still water. Nachos wanted to keep going but Marco kept a firm hand on her reins as he continued to mutter to himself about vectors and typed on his phone. She was getting tired of this game he was playing (this was the fourth time already he had stopped to “double check” directions), and made a loud exasperated sigh which sounded like a small engine backfire. Marco looked up from his phone and patted the side of her head gently.

“I know I know, I’m hurrying. Just want to make sure we’re going in the… right direction…again” he softly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Nachos rolled her eyes and grunted as she turned her head towards what was obviously Star’s house. “Hey now, don’t get terse with me young lady” Marco growled back. He knew Nachos knew that he was trying to stall for time—he just really didn’t want to get there so soon. All of Christmas Day had passed by so painfully slow as he waited for the time the Christumpmas Party was supposed to start. Star hadn’t texted him at all since they had met for the first time in forever the night prior, when she had given him her address and invitation for the Christumpmas party.

_And that’s weird right? Like she didn’t even ask if I was coming at all. Or wished me a Merry Christumpmas. But I guess I didn’t either right? So it’s not weird then. Right? Yeah. What would be weird would be my long lost ex texting me on Christumpmas Day like we were besties all of a sudden. Of course we’re not besties! That’s silly. Just old friends catching up. At her house. With her husband. Who she’s intimate with. Who I also haven’t seen for almost ten years……ohmygosh I gotta get out of here… This was a huge mistake—just gotta turn around and—”_

Nachos was watching Marco’s face and could see him starting to do his far off gaze again, plus he was nervously bouncing his right leg constantly off her, which she knew was his tell that he was starting to do one of his spirals again. Nachos sighed and started to point slightly down towards the ground—her tell-tell way of letting Marco know that they were going to be moving soon and that he better put away his phone and hold on if he didn’t want to lose his phone or fall off…again. Marco was still bouncing his leg and staring obliviously off in the distance as Nacho rumbled and started to dive slowly but increasingly faster at the ground. It took Marco a couple of seconds to realize what was happening before he quickly snapped out of his trance, eyes wide, and shoved his phone into his jacket pocket.

“NAAAAAAACCCCCHHHHOOOOOOSSSSS!!!” he screamed as she barreled towards the ground. “WAIT! STOP IT! WE… NEED… TO… GO… BACK… HOME!” he hollered as he tugged at the reins in a desperate attempt to turn them around. But Nachos was in control now, and she knew what her rider needed more than he did. After a minute of listening to his screaming and yanking on her reigns and horns, she flew into the cul-de-sac where Star’s house sat and perfectly fluttered down to parallel park in between a carriage and a large SUV. Marco had stopped yelling when he saw the house getting nearer and nearer, and was still trying to pull on the reins to get Nachos to fly away from there, but it was to no avail. She was perfectly perched on her spike wheels and Marco could feel that her engine core had completely shut down. She wasn’t moving anywhere at all.

Marco sighed and dismounted Nachos, putting his helmet in a leather pouch he had on Nachos’ left side as he rubbed a hand through his hair. “Gosh dang it Nachos… you’re just about as stubborn as I am…” Nachos hummed softly as Marco rubbed the underside of her chin and placed their foreheads together. “Alright… fine. I’m here. I’ll go in and have some fun. But I’ll be back soon ok?” Nachos snorted steam into his face, her eyes steeled. “Alright alright, geez! Not too soon then! Dang girl!” Marco sputtered as he waved the smoke from his face. Nachos smiled and nodded her head towards the house as Marco rolled his eyes with an exasperated chuckle and a final pat on the head as he walked towards the house.

Marco rolled his shoulders as he walked towards the house, hands in pockets. Star’s house was massive. _It’s actually less of a house and more of a mansion_ Marco thought to himself. But considering the households and palaces the two residents had grown up in, this was significantly downsized compared to what they were used to. The mansion sat alone at the top of a semi-steep hill that trailed down for a good half a mile at least. The exterior of the mansion was made of what looked like a combination of brick, cobblestone, and smooth sculpted stone, all of which had their own separate parts of the house to showcase, but also intertwined seamlessly and beautifully together. The main floor had large peaked windows with a nice windy metal trim around them. Marco counted what looked like two old school Mewni-style castle towers and one obviously underworldly-inspired spire. The main entrance was vaulted with four twenty-foot tall stone pillars each twenty feet apart, providing a slightly longer than anticipated walk to the front door. The ten-foot-tall ornate wooden double doors had what looked like both demonic and mewman writings on it, along with a prominent carving of both the Lucitor and Butterfly insignias intertwined together. A large gothic chandelier hung down from the ceiling, providing ample light but also an immediate slight sense of foreboding and insignificance to Marco. He was about to knock on the door when he saw a handwritten sign on the side of the wall in big swirling blue letters—

_WELCOME PARTY PEOPLE!! DON’T KNOCK JUST COME ON IN AND GET THAT CHRISTMAS GROOVE ON! IT’S TIME TO GET SLEIGHED FACED!!!_

Marco chuckled as he read the note. “That’s definitely Star—" but then he saw another smaller, more flowy red lettering underneath it—

 _Please take off your shoes before leaving the main entrance—the carpet is authentic Mewni-spider woven thread and the hardwood floor is underworld scorched Cyprus wood_. _Thank you for attending tonight’s festivities in our humble abode._

“And that would be Tom” Marco rolled his eyes and slowly opened the door, which was somewhat hard to open because quite a few people’s shoes were scattered haphazardly across the entrance way. A lot more shoes than Marco expected to be here for a holiday party. But then again, he didn’t expect Star’s and Tom’s home to be this massive either—especially in an EcMon suburb. Marco closed the door gently behind him, navigated his way through the pile of shoes scattered on the floor, and found a somewhat secluded spot to take off his boots that he hoped would help prevent them from being mistakenly taken by some random stranger. There was a large mirror on the side of the wall near where he put his boots down and so Marco tried to quickly straighten himself up. His hair was a little helmet-hairy from the ride over, so he tossed it around to smooth it out, took off his leather jacket, and hung it up on a chair in a room that apparently was the coat room with everyone’s jackets and coats flung on the table, chairs, and furniture. He went back to the mirror and straightened out his sweater he was wearing under his jacket, when he saw a reflection out of the corner of his eye walking towards him from the other side of the hallway.

“MARCO!” came the loud happy callout as Star walked towards him with both arms wide open. Marco turned around to find himself quickly wrapped in a strong embrace with both of his arms pinned at his sides as Star squeezed him tightly. Marco sheepishly chuckled as he tried to squirm an arm free to at least return the embrace, but it was over before he could even make much headway. “Hey! Welcome to the party big guy! I was hoping you would still show up”

“Of course Star!” grinned Marco. “I said I’d be here and I’m a man of my word! Plus, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to catch up again and see your house. It’s amazing!”

“Thanks! Yeah, it’s pretty great” Star smiled as she brushed a hair behind her ear. “It’s a nice blend of both of our old castle styles, and it’s all really nice materials.”

“Yeah I can tell! It looks incredible and I can’t wait to see more. And speaking of nice materials—I’m loving the ugly holiday sweater you’re rocking” Marco said pointing to Star’s sweater. She was wearing a bright red knitted sweater with a picture of Santa Claus’s red face in sunglasses with two finger-gun hands with a “Where’s my Hos at?!?” logo around the head. It was remarkably funny and totally inappropriate for the occasion— _Classic Star!_ Marco thought. It was a really nice sweater and it looked really good on her with the remainder of her outfit. She had red fuzzy socks with white snowflakes on the front of them, a tighter pair of black joggers, and her hair was done in nice simple layered curls that billowed down to the very tops of her shoulders. _All of it looks nice…_ Marco thought as he started to realize he was beginning to blush.

“Aw thanks! I’m glad at least _someone_ likes it!” Star slightly huffed. “Tom thought it was a bit too crass for the type of people he was inviting, but it’s a party after all! So I gotta represent my par-tah pee-pul!” Star chanted, pumping her alternating hands into the air. Marco laughed at the sight and Star softly laughed along. “And hey, you’re not looking too bad yourself with that ugly sweater you’re sporting” she said poking him in the chest. Marco’s sweater was a pine green sweatshirt that had an obnoxiously large decorated Christmas tree image plastered in the direct center of the shirt. “For a guy who never changed out of red, green’s actually a really good color on you.”

“Ah, well, thanks Star!” Marco chuckled somewhat nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly this was the best I could find in such short notice, but I’m glad that you like it.”

“Yeah, it’s not a bad look for you at all” Star replied somewhat mindlessly, her eyes scanning Marco’s full body and outfit once more with a hand to her chin. “Anyway, no point on standing here in the entrance way when there’s still a party going on! Let me take you over to the main common area, there’s a bunch of people there right now” she said with a slight wave of her arm as she began to turn around and walk down the hallway.

“Ok, sounds great” Marco replied as he followed behind her. “I’ll be honest Star, I was a bit surprised that your party had a theme, but the ugly sweater theme is a neat idea. I’m excited to see what the other people decided to—”

They turned a corner that opened up into a large room that had about 10-12 people inside it. There were two long couches on opposite sides of the room, a large circular table in the center of the room filled with different desserts and appetizers, and one side of the room had large windows that looked out into the cul-de-sac and the hill below. The room itself was impressive—the furniture looked ornate yet functional, the walls looked to be solid marble or some other stone, thick white carpet covered the floor, and a glass chandelier hung down from the vaulted ceiling. But what caught Marco most off-guard was that about more than half of the people in the room were dressed in black suits and ties, and outside of Marco there was only about 2 or 3 people who were wearing colorful sweaters.

“—wear…” Marco paused both his speech and his movement for a few seconds while he slowly blinked. “Star…” he slowly said turning his head towards her, “why are there so many fancy dressed people here… and why am I one of a lonely few who’s wearing ugly sweaters?”

“Oh yeah! Whoops, forgot to mention that!” Star laughed embarrassingly, rubbing the back of her head as she laughed. “See, Tom and I invite separate people to these parties, and we each have a different dress code. I prefer something fun and festive, but Tom always goes formal. It’s our way of compromising since we can’t decide on a common theme.”

“Uh yeah, I guess that makes sense” Marco replied, his eyes still scanning the room at the different guests. “Kinda makes me feel out of place though—I would have worn a suit if I’d known this was what the majority of the guests would be like.”

“Oh hush, that would’ve been super boring and drab! I’m glad you came here and dressed in something fun and colorful! It’s Christumpmas after all!” Star beamed as she grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards the middle of the room. “Come here, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Woah! Uh, oh, uh, yeah, ok, ok” Marco stammered as Star pulled him into the room with Marco barely keeping his footing before being spun in front of another woman in a grey sweater with a large snowflake imprinted on it.

“Marco, let me introduce you to Miranda. Miranda—Marco.”

“Uh, hi, Miranda is it? It’s nice to meet you” Marco said sticking out a hand.

“Hello Marco” Miranda cheerfully replied, taking his hand in a solid handshake. “Nice to meet you too.”

“Well, I’ll let you two keep talking and enjoying your drinks. I’m going to keep hostessing this shindig” Star smiled as she began to turn around and leave.

“Woah, wait, Star!” Marco began to call out. “Don’t just leave—” he said reaching a hand out, only to realize that his left hand that was originally empty was holding a wine glass full of red liquid. He stared at the glass in surprised shock, only to see Star already out of the room and halfway into the next, waving at someone and talking loudly as she made her way to that person. _–Me here… alone._ Marco sighed and turned back towards Miranda who was slightly smirking as Marco gave a soft shrug.

“Yeah, she does that a lot at these things” Miranda softly chuckled. “She’s never in one place for long when she’s hosting a party.”

“Yeah I know” Marco chuckled. “She’s always been like that, ever since I first met her.”

“Oh, so you guys know each other?” Miranda asked. “I figured she knew you since you got her dress code, but I haven’t seen you at one of these parties before.”

“Uh, yeah. We, uh, knew each other back when, uh, we were teenagers. I, uh, hadn’t seen her in a while and, uh, we, uh, bumped into each other the other day at the store and she invited me over” Marco stammered through, rubbing his neck the whole time.

“So you guys were childhood friends? That’s really neat! Do you live here in EcMon then?”

“No, no, well…kinda. I’ve been living in New York City for a while, but I recently got a temp apartment here for the next little bit. I grew up here when this was originally Echo Creek, and was here for the first few years when it became EcMon.”

“New York City, really?!” Miranda exclaimed. “I absolutely love the New York skyline—it’s absolutely breathtaking isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is” Marco agreed, taking a sip of the liquid as his eyes got wide. “This… this is really strong red wine” Marco slightly coughed.

“Oh yes, it’s Star’s own personal blend—I believe she said it’s a mix of original Earth and Mewni berries, which gives it a strong unique flavor. And,” she said, leaning in towards Marco and hiding a smirk with her hand, “I’m pretty sure Star likes to… punch up the guest wine with a brunette friend of hers called ‘Brandeane’”

“Oh.” Marco blinked twice. “Oooooohhhhhhh…...” his face lighting up with understanding as he looked at the wine, then at Miranda’s smirking raised eyebrow face, and then back at his cup before taking a thoughtful sip. “Yeah, that makes way more sense” he chuckled.

“Well, I don’t know what Star’s drinking habits were like as a teenager, but I can tell you she loves to get sloshed as an adult at parties” Miranda chuckled with an eye roll.

“Yeah, I can see that” Marco slightly chuckled as some old memories flew through his brain. “Anyway” he said with a slight shake of his head, “how do you know Star?”

“Oh, well that’s an interesting story actually! You see, we—”

“Excuse me, Sir?” a young female voice cut through the conversation. Marco turned to see a younger woman in a mid-length black skirt, white blouse, black tie, and a black business jacket. She had thin rimless glasses, long dark brown hair tied into a single ponytail, and in her hand was a medium sized folder. “Pardon the interruption, but the Mayor would like to talk with you immediately” the young woman gestured towards another woman who was standing against the wall on the far side of the room. The woman in the corner looked very similar to the one in front of Marco, except she had short bobbed black hair, and was motioning him to come over with a finger and a devilish grin on her face.

“Janna…” Marco softly muttered and felt a little bit of color drain from his face. He quickly downed the remainder of his drink, set the empty glass on the table, and turned with a helpless shrug towards Miranda. “Sorry, I gotta take this—we’ll talk later ok?”

“Uh, yeah! No problem! Have fun talking with the mayor...” Miranda awkwardly chuckled as Marco walked with the young woman towards Janna. Marco snagged another glass of wine from the platter of a roaming waiter as he approached Janna.

“Well well well, the bad boy adventurer has graced his humble roots with his presence” Janna smirked with an icy tooth grin, her voice as cold as her smile. “To what do we owe such a great pleasure?”

“Mayor Ordonia.” Marco coldly replied, extending a hand towards her. “It is good to see you again. It has been quite a while.”

Janna took his hand and firmly grasped it, the surprising softness of her hand catching Marco off guard just long enough for Janna to get the stronger grip of the two, squeezing his hand a bit tighter than customary. “Yes it has Mr. Diaz. We have much to discuss and to catch up on” she continued, pulling him slightly closer as she stepped towards him, dropping her voice to a whisper. _You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here_ she hissed as she squeezed his hand harder, his eyes widening slightly. Marco tried to squeeze back but was in a weak position to respond adequately. Janna released her grip and turned towards the woman who had brought Marco to her. “Aide, can you give us some space please? This is a… private conversation.”

“Of course, Madam Mayor. I’ll be nearby if you need me” the young woman said with a slight bow as she turned and walked towards the opposite side of the room.

Janna sighed as she reached over and grabbed a drink for herself from a passing waiter. “Well Marco, welcome back” she slyly smiled as she brushed her bobbed hair behind her ear, taking a sip.

“Thanks, I guess…” Marco slowly replied, his stance still rigid and somewhat defensive. “It’s… been awhile. Good to see you…Janna…”

“I suppose it’s good to see you too?” Janna replied, taking another small sip from her wine glass. “Where have you been? We haven’t talked in like, what, 10 years now?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’ve been in New York for nearly all of it” Marco awkwardly shrugged as he took a drink from his own glass. “Look, Janna, I’m sorry that I haven’t called or reached out in all these years, I’ve just—”

“Woah woah woah, easy there Marco” Janna chuckled, shaking a hand in front of him. “No need to apologize to me for anything. Unless you’ve done something evil recently. Done any moonlight murdering lately?”

“What?! What the—howdugh—whydacha” Marco sputtered as Janna laughed at the sight of a flustering Marco. “JANNA!!! Who even starts conversations like that??” Marco hissed softly.

“Aw man, that’s priceless! So many good memories” Janna laughed as she hit Marco’s arm. “Relax Diaz, you really haven’t loosened up in your old age.”

“OLD?!” Marco sputtered again.

“Anyway, whatcha been doing in New York? Never made it that far east myself—hate the stupid cold and snow.”

“Oh, well… I’ve been doing a lot of different things out there” Marco said, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

“Doing a lot, huh?” Janna smirked as she roamed her eyes up and down Marco’s full body a few times. “Yeah I can believe that” she said with a sip.

Marco sighed as he closed his eyes and ran another hand through his hair, taking a deeper breath. “No, not like that” he stated, trying hard not to give Janna any satisfaction from her off-putting remarks. “Lots has happened since I left. I was a professor of Psychology for a little bit, then I did high school guidance counseling for a while, and now I’m hosting a daytime TV talk show.”

“Oh wow, really?” Janna said with a raised eyebrow. “People actually want to hear _you_ talk on TV?”

“Yeah, I know, kinda crazy huh?” Marco nervously chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. “It’s amazing what life throws at you sometimes huh?”

“Mmhhm, guess so” Janna shrugged. “So is it a local thing or what?”

“Syndicated nationwide. Increased online and social media presence, they’re going full out on this new program” Marco shrugged as he took another small sip.

“Interesting…” Janna mused as she looked at Marco’s eyes intently. “So, what is it about?”

“It’s going to be a hodgepodge of a whole bunch of different things. There’s cooking, dragon-cycling, psychology, martial arts / sword fighting, guest interactions, there’s a lot that they’re planning on doing and using to keep it fresh and entertaining”.

“Well,” Janna scoffed with a teasing eye, “looks like they’re trying to make sure you talk as little as possible then.”

“Guess you can say that” Marco chuckled as he looked down, swirling his drink. “So, what have you been up to lately? Other than being Mayor I guess.”

“That’s pretty much the extent of my life Marco. Mayor Ordonia of EcMon. Don’t have a lot of time for anything else really” she sighed.

“I see…” Marco slowly replied. “But, uh, how do you like the job though? I could imagine it must be tough running a hybrid city of humans, mewmans, and monsters.”

“Eh. A job’s a job” Janna said, playing with the rim of her wine-glass. “I will say this job is a surprisingly good fit for me. You know, with all the manipulation and coercion that comes with the territory” she said with a sly grin.

“Oh, well, uh, I guess that’s true” Marco nervously laughed. “I never would have thought you would be a politician though, let alone a mayor” he continued as Janna gave him a cocked eyebrow. “Oh! I mean, not like that you’re not good or anything or that you’re not doing a good job or you couldn’t do it, but like, thought you’d be a dark mage or something” he nervously chuckled as he shifted on his feet, rubbing his neck.

“Well, you do know that all politicians are evil” Janna began with a devilish grin, “and when you have a large portion of the underworld demons living underneath your sewers, black magic comes quite in handy, even in bureaucratic circles”.

“Um, wow. Yeah, I guess that makes sense” Marco mused, still swirling his glass absentmindedly in his hand. Both of them stood there in silence for a moment, the light din of the other partygoers providing the white noise to fill in their silence. Suddenly it was broken as both of them heard Star loudly talking from a different room somewhere in the house.

“CHARLOETTE! Who let you near the dessert table! Don’t make me fight you for those Cake Balls—I’ll end you!” came the loud cheerful taunt from the unseen Star. Marco chuckled and Janna rolled her eyes with a tired grin as they both looked over in the direction the sound came. Marco couldn’t help but feel a large smile drawing itself across his face.

Janna sighed. “Alright, so when did you see her?” she seriously asked, looking up at Marco.

“Last night” Marco replied, his eyes still focused in the direction the sound came from, the smile softening on his face. “We ran into each other unexpectedly in a grocery store of all places… honestly, I didn’t even know she was still here” he said turning towards Janna, who was looking stern and serious all over again.

“Well, that’s what happens when you don’t talk to people for ten years” Janna tersely responded, arms crossed. “So, what, she saw you and invited you over here?”

“Well, we caught up for a while but, yeah, that’s pretty much it” he sheepishly rubbed his neck. “I guess you can tell because of the sweater, huh? So, uh, if Star invited you where is your swea—”

“I’m here because I need to be here in my official role as Mayor” Janna coldly replied, slowly stepping towards Marco, her eyes steeling with each step she took. “But as one of Star’s friends who didn’t _leave and completely disappear_ ” she icily emphasized as Marco slowly started backing up against the side of the wall, his eyes widening with each step he took, “I’m also here to support Star and prevent any knives from getting stabbed in her back.” Marco’s back hit against the wall as Janna closed in on him, her stare and voice more frigid than any Neverzone wraith. “And I know why you’re here Marco Diaz. Why you’re _really_ here. Yeah, that’s right—look shocked and surprised. And if you know what’s good for you, you will say goodbye to Star after this party and leave, and never. come. back.” She emphasized the last words with strong pokes to the chest.

“I…uh…don’t…uh, know what you’re…talking about” Marco helplessly sputtered, feeling the sweat starting to pool on his forehead, his wineglass trembling in his hand, his eyes darting everywhere but at Janna.

“Listen here and listen well bub, because I’m only going to say this once” Janna hissed as she grabbed his sweater and pulled him closer to her face, slowly emphasizing each phrase. “Everyone here has moved on. And is happy. You should move on too.” She seethed into his ear in a whisper that sent shivers down his spine and throughout his whole body. “Don’t go breaking any more hearts because you don’t have your shit together” she released her grip as Marco slowly stood back up and slouched against the wall.

Janna took a step back and smoothed out her skirt and jacket. Almost as if on cue, the young woman appeared at her side. “Madam Mayor, there are other guests that require your attention tonight” came the formal, professional statement.

“Thank you Aide, I appreciate the heads up” Janna smoothly and calmly replied. Turning once again to Marco who looked a bit paler and had beads of sweat on his forehead, she calmly and professionally stated “Mr. Diaz, it has been a pleasure. I do hope we can talk again soon.” Then with the motioning of the Aide’s arm, she turned around and began to walk away. Marco released a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding in, when Janna stopped and turned around to face Marco.

“Oh, and Mr. Diaz?” she calmly asked, to which Marco looked up at her with slight trembling eyes. She reached into her pocket and underhand tossed two things at Marco, who caught them feebly. He looked down and his eyes got wide, as he realized he was holding both his privacy security-wallet and his phone. He looked incredulously at Janna, then his hands, and back at Janna once more.

Janna smiled icily. “Merry Christmas”, she coolly said as she turned around once more and walked calmly and confidently away.

“Getouttatown…” Marco faintly muttered as he put away his phone and wallet, wiping the large beads of sweat off of his brow and slowly making his way to the couch to sit down for a moment.

Janna, upon leaving the room turned to her Aide as they continued to walk towards another room. “Aide, schedule an appointment with Star Butterfly as soon as she is able to meet” she coolly commanded, her steps brisk and her hands clenched. “We need to talk”.

*******************************

Star hurried from the main common area where she had just dropped Marco off with Miranda into an adjacent room filled with more guests. Gliding around the clashing colors of dark suits and brightly colored sweaters, Star was in constant motion, the sights and sounds muddling together as she rushed from one group to the next. _I wish I could have talked with Marco for a bit more, but I have guests to attend to. I’ll catch up with him later, I’m sure. He’s already pretty good at waiting, what’s a few more minutes while I try and get my hostess duties done?_ she mused as she chatted and weaved her way around another group of sweater-clad friends. Star constantly laced between the different guests, saying polite greetings and gratitudes to Tom’s suit-guests for attending their home, and then immediately jumping gears to enthusiastic cheer and hugs when seeing another sweater guest. The constant noise and emotional shift was dizzying to watch, let alone experience it on Star’s level, which is why (Star noted dryly to herself), that her increasingly painful headache was most likely the result of her own wanton enthusiasm. And her constant toasts with each of her sweater guests wasn’t helping her either.

As Star was waltzing over to another gaggle of her sweater-draped friends, someone grabbed her elbow and pulled her back around the corner into the hallway. With a slight spin, she spun around to find herself facing Tom, who with a big smile enwrapped her into a gentle yet firm embrace. “Hey Starship—how ya doing?”

“Oh hey Tomsicle” Star slightly chuckled as she wrapped herself in the embrace, leaning against his chest. “I’m doing alright. I’m starting to get a headache but I’m doing ok. We sure did invite a lot of people this year, huh?”

“Yeah you’re telling me babe” Tom chuckled with an eye roll. “I swear there’s more and more suits every time I turn around—I barely have a free moment to even think before I’m bombarded by the next group.”

“Ugh, I know, right? I love my friends but there’s just so many of them I haven’t been able to even sit down or eat anything since the party started. Can’t believe it’s already been an hour” Star shook her head as she broke out of their embrace and held Tom’s hands in hers. “Actually, I could really use some of our homemade Eggnog right about now” Star chuckled.

“You mean our eggnog flavored Vodka?” Tom snickered. “I think when they say 60-40 for a mix, the alcohol is supposed to be the lower number of the two.”

“Oh hush, people are loving my wine mix, and besides that’s the only way anyone can even stomach regular eggnog” Star huffed.

“And I know that if you had it your way, you’d be over halfway through that carton of Eggnog right now” Tom smiled as he gave their hands a little squeeze.

“I wouldn’t have to drink as much if you were capable of getting drunk!” Star grinned. “Getting drunk by yourself is not as much fun as with someone else” she said swinging their hands gently.

“Believe me, I wish I could honey, but you know it just burns off immediately.”

“Yeah well, I still want me some of that Eggnog” Star grumbled.

“Babe, you can drink the whole thing tonight once everyone’s gone, but as much as I would like to sit back and relax too, we both have guests to attend to” Tom shrugged as he gave their hands another small squeeze. “And hey, we’re still having fun here though, right? Everyone seems to be having a good time.”

“Yeah, they definitely seem like it…” Star said watching a group of sweaters pass by laughing loudly.

“That’s because you’re such a great hostess honey” Tom smiled as he leaned down and pulled Star in for a quick kiss on the lips, who returned it with a smile.

“Aw thanks babe—I appreciate that!” Star grinned as she swayed their hands once more.

“Hey, we’ll catch up later, but it looks like I gotta run and talk to some more people right now—Jenkins is giving me the look again.” Tom motioned over to a butler who had a notepad and was tapping his foot repeatedly while giving a slight impatient glance over at Tom.

Star rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Ok then, go and finish those big business deals of yours then.” She said patting his chest. “We’ll pick up on this later.”

“Sounds good babe” Tom said as he let go of her hands and started to turn around and walk towards Jenkins at the end of the hallway.

“Oh! Almost forgot. Honey!” Star called to Tom, who turned around to face her. “Marco is here tonight. He’s probably still in the front parlor room—you should talk to him before it gets too late.”

“Marco’s here! Awesome! It’s been a hot second since we’ve last talked—it’ll be good to catch up again!” Tom beamed. “I’ll head over now before I forget” he said walking back down the hallway.

“Tom, you do remember what we talked about last night, right?” Star called out as Tom continued to walk away.

“Yeah of course I do!” Tom confidently said, hands in pockets as he turned the corner.

Star shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Of course he doesn’t remember” she sighed. Star took another deep breath and pulled her hair back. _Only a few more hours to go of this. Get through the kitchen, then you can head back to your room, grab a drink, and take a break and work off this headache_ she coached herself as she took another deep breath and turned the corner to enter the kitchen.

“CHARLOETTE! Who let you near the dessert table! Don’t make me fight you for those Cake Balls—I’ll end you!”

**********************************

Marco slumped onto the couch as he finished the rest of his drink in one gulp, breathing slowly and deeply as he cleared his head and his nerves. _Just who does she think she is?!_ Marco grumbled to himself. _We haven’t seen each other in almost a decade and then she goes to threaten me with wild accusations? Geez Louise that sounds exactly like Janna come to think of it... And I have no idea how she got ahold of my phone and wallet! How does she do it?”_ Marco chuckled bewilderly as he stood up and walked over to the food spread on the table in the center of the room. There were a scattered variety of different finger foods and veggies. Marco was feeling strangely hungry and grabbing a plate, started to grab a few of the appetizers.

“MARCO!” came a loud booming male voice from the edge of the room, startling Marco as he almost dropped his plate.

“Whu—TOM?!” Marco exclaimed as he turned around and saw Tom walking towards him, arms out wide and a huge devilish grin on his face. “Holy crap—dude! It’s so good to see you again!” Marco laughed as he rushed over and embraced Tom in a solid hand-clasped hug.

“Marco my man, it’s good to see you too! It’s been a hot minute since we last talked—how have you been man?” Tom happily asked, taking Marco by the shoulders and giving him a quick lookover.

“Oh you know, busy as ever but doing well man!” Marco chuckled as he grabbed Tom’s wrists and removed his hands from Marco’s shoulders. “How about you dude? You’re looking great! And I love your house bro—it’s really epic!”

“Aw thanks dude! You’re looking pretty good yourself! And I’m glad you still like the house—we keep changing stuff all the time, but I’m sure you’ve already noticed man” Tom chuckled.

“Haha, well… actually,” Marco chuckled somewhat nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, “this is my first time at your house.”

“What? Noooooo” Tom replied in disbelief with a scoff. “C’mon dude, you were just here not to long ago, remember? When we had that championship night a few months ago?”

“Sorry man” Marco shrugged with a grin, “I wasn’t there and totally missed out I guess.”

“Wait, really?” Tom looked at him incredulously. “I coulda sworn… well, anyway, I’m glad you’re here man! If you weren’t here last time, then we haven’t hung out since we threw our housewarming party! Man, that was a lot of fun huh?”

“Well, like I said Tom” Marco sheepishly chuckled rubbing his neck, “this is my first time in your home. Which I absolutely love by the way don’t get me wrong” he quickly finished.

“Dude, really? Unreal, I thought for sure… Well bro, if this is your first time, how have you liked the place? What’s your favorite room so far man? I have this running bet with Star as to which room people like the best here” Tom goofily grinned.

“Well… so far I’ve seen your entrance hall and this room, so while your hand carved door is amazing, I don’t think it can compete with this snack table and your carpet” Marco chuckled as he ate an appetizer from his plate.

“Duuuuude! That’s all you’ve seen so far? Geez man, what have you been doing all night?”

“Well I’ve only been here for about… 10 minutes? I got dropped off here by Star and I haven’t made my way out of here yet.”

“Then in that case I gotta show you around the old _Casa_! Give you the grand tour man!” Tom beamed as he slapped Marco on the back and took him under his arm.

Marco chuckled as he placed the plate down and wrapped an arm around Tom’s shoulder. “Sure man, I’d love that” he smiled as Tom led them out of the room and into one of the hallways.

“Alrighty then… let’s see, let’s see… where to start… Oh! I guess I’ll just hit them one by one as we go down then” Tom decided with a snap of his finger as he began opening doors for Marco and showing him around the different rooms. He pointed out the layout of the rooms, the different themes they chose, the different styles of architecture and materials used for each room, it was incredibly interesting and a tad overwhelming for Marco. Each room was very ornate and well equipped and designed, it reminded Marco of a lot of Butterfly Castle back in the day, with Tom’s underworld flair mixed into it as well.

“Tom man, I gotta say, everything you’ve shown me is so cool! And it’s so fancy and so well designed… Man, I’m super impressed—you did good for yourself with this house!” Marco said with awe as he looked at a marble statue of an old Mewman Knight.

“Thanks dude, that means a lot coming from you!” Tom chuckled as they continued to walk past another room full of guests. “Man, I can’t believe we haven’t hung out in a while! I miss this man.”

“Yeah, me too” Marco smiled at Tom as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Tom stopped and looked over Marco’s shoulder and began to smile.

“Aw, look at this!” he cooed as he pointed to something and Marco turned around to see a giant painting of Tom and Star in their wedding clothes. Star was in a white flowery dress with a long train behind her, holding a bouquet of white roses. Tom was in a very snazzy dark tux, his hair slicked back and an arm around Star’s waist. Both of them had big smiles on their faces, their cheeks blushing, the flower-garden they were standing in looking sunny and bright as they stared down on Tom and Marco’s upstretched gaze.

“I haven’t been down this hallway in a long time I guess—I totally forgot we had this here!” Tom laughed with delighted glee as he looked back at the picture with hands in his pockets, a genuine smile enveloping his face. “Man, Marco, what a day that was!” he shook his head with a smile.

Marco rested a hand on Tom shoulder as he looked at Tom and then back at the picture. “I’m sure it was buddy… you two look, so… happy together” he smiled, albeit slightly tenser than normal.

“Yeah man it—wait, what do you mean, “sure it was”?” Tom confusingly looked at Marco, his whole face perplexed. “You were there for our wedding—you RSVP’d and got an invitation and everything! You were one of the groomsmen!”

Marco smile quickly dissolved into a sad grin as he slightly tightened his grip on Tom’s shoulder and looked at Tom directly. “Tom… dude… I didn’t even know you guys were married until 24 hours ago…”

Tom grabbed Marco’s hand off his shoulder in shock, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Nooooo…. nooooo…” he muttered, rubbing a hand through his hair as his eyes wandered and he grabbed his chin with his hand. “I’m sure I sent you an invitation and everything! We sent it to your parent’s house!”

“Sorry man, my folks haven’t lived there in like, five or six years, and I haven’t gotten mail from EcMon in even longer” Marco sadly replied.

“Wait wait wait” Tom said shaking his head, “So… you’re telling me that you weren’t at our wedding?” Marco sadly shook his head. Tom put his hands in his pockets as he slouched against the wall, his gaze distant. “When was the last time we actually were together man?” Tom finally asked.

Marco sighed and leaned against the opposite wall from Tom. “It’s been about ten years man” he solemnly said, his head drooped.

Tom shook his head and sighed deeply. “Dude… I’m… so sorry…” Tom slowly said with a slight head bang on the wall. “UGGGGH! I’m such an idiot!” he growled, rubbing an eye with his fist as Marco looked at him with slightly surprised eyes. “I should’ve remembered that time perception is completely different for Demons! Star’s always getting on my case about it—how could I’ve not realized that I’ve been such a bad bro to you!... I mean,” Tom started to sniffle with a wipe of his arm across his nose, “you’ve been gone this whole time… and I know we were busy, and I was busy, and I knew you were doing stuff… but… I could’ve sworn we were talking all the time! And hanging out…and chillin, and being stupid, and doing our bro stuff but now you’re getting older and we’ve lost a whole decade and you frickin humans die so stinkin fast it’s just not fair!—” Tom choked through with clenched fists as Marco grabbed Tom in a strong embrace, plunging his head into Tom’s neck.

“Don’t you DARE apologize man.” Marco forcefully tightened his embrace as if to emphasize the point. “I’m the one who left. I’m the one who never bothered to call anyone. I’m the one that cut you all off. If anything, I am the one who needs to ask you for forgiveness bro!” Marco sputtered. “You were one of my best friends, and you still are, and I totally left you all high and dry. I’m the frickin idiot here… I’m so sorry Tom. I really am…”

Tom sniffled as he pulled Marco out of their embrace. “Hey man, don’t worry about it. We’re all good” he said with a small chuckle as he playfully punched Marco’s shoulder. “I don’t really care about the past—I’m just glad we’re back together man!”

“Yeah, me too” Marco smiled as he wiped his nose with his sleeve as well, his eyes flickering a glimpse at the wedding portrait one last time as he did.

“Anyway, slight tangent here, but I do have one question for you—what’s your third favorite song of all time?” Tom said as he started walking down the hallway once more, Marco following in trail.

“Well…” Marco thought, “that’s a tough question, I mean, so much has changed in music and my tastes since high school… but I’d still have to say that it’s Awesome—”

Tom opened a door and Marco stepped through, his eyes widening and jaw slacking at the sight. “—Feeling…” A shriek went off as Marco spun around looking at Tom and back at the room which was stuffed to the brim with Love Sentence memorabilia, posters, and collectables. “TOOOMMM!!! HOLY CRAP YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE LOVE SENTENCE THEMED ROOM!?!?”

Tom laughed as Marco jumped from one portion of the room to the next. “Yeah man! Always been a big fan, and now that I have my own place, I made my very own collectors’ room!”

“Ohmygoodness youhavetherare 2008NewportLoveSentenceconcertposters wherethebandbrokeup forthesecondtimemidsong andtheriotslastedthreedays!!!” Marco muttered obsessively as he ogled everything in the room.

“Yeah man, glad to see you still remember your stuff!” Tom chuckled. “I’m going to need to have you come over sometime—Star and I love to do trivia nights, and we always have a Love Sentence category—you’d probably be awesome at all of it, but we need someone who can hold their own in Love Sentence trivia!”

Marco snapped out of his fanboy mental lock to look over at Tom, an ear to ear smile on his face. “You bet—I’d love that!”

“Excuse me, Sir Thomas?” came a proper voice as a butler appeared. “Pardon the interruption but you still have multiple guests to attend to, and much business to accomplish before nights end.”

Tom smacked his head and groaned. “Ugggh, yeah, yeah, you’re right Jenkins. Gotta get back to work I guess.”

“Work?” Marco asked with a furrowed brow. “Dude, it’s Christumpmas Night, what work do you have to do?”

Tom sighed. “Well, you’ve seen all those people who are wearing suits and ties?” Marco nodded. “Well, those are potential clients, investors, politicians, suppliers—basically they’re all here because they want to hire or support my architecture firm. These parties are our best way to get orders and business.”

“Oh wow! That’s cool, I guess. I thought they were just friends of yours and you have them in suits because that’s your style and so you could tell who invited who” Marco rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle.

“You’re not entirely wrong bro!” Tom chuckled. “It helps us know who’s here for business and who’s here for pleasure, but if I had it my way, we’d all be wearing suits and ties. After all,” he said with a small spin and a tug on his lapels, “I look damn handsome in a suit.”

Marco smirked. “Yeah you do buddy!”

“Well, I gotta go, but feel free to keep exploring the house and enjoying the party! Kitchen is down this hallway, the next right, and is about halfway down. Can’t miss it!”

“Alright thanks! And hey man, thanks again for everything. We’ll catch up again soon alright?” Marco held out a fist with a large determined smile.

Tom grinned and returned the fist bump. “You got it bro. See you around!” he said with a wave of his hand as he followed the butler back down the hallway. Marco turned around and started to make his way towards the kitchen. He was starting to get hungry, and the smell of food wafting down the hallway was alluring.

Marco walked into the kitchen, his eyes popping and his mouth beginning to water. The room was massive—it looked more like a medium sized reception hall than a kitchen. The whole side of the wall was lined with tables full of different food and drinks, the other side was nearly all kitchen equipment, with a large island in the middle that looked like it was solid polished black stone that had even more refreshments on it. Waiters and Staff roamed freely in between the guests with trays of different appetizers and drinks. Marco grabbed a plate and started pilling it up, only making it through the first third of the tables before finding a chair near a back corner. He sat down and began to gorge himself, realizing that he really hadn’t eaten at all since lunch and that he was much hungrier than he thought. _I guess I didn’t eat at all before coming here—wasn’t hungry with all the nerves,_ he thought in between bites of a finger sandwich. Having a moment to himself, he was able to do a bit of people watching for the first time since he had gotten there. It was obvious that there were two completely different types of people at this party. All of the sweater people were Star’s friends, and nearly all of them were loud, laughing, talking up a storm, constantly eating, and moving from place to place in groups. Their clothes were vibrant, bright, and help light up the room. Tom’s business guests were mostly prim and proper, very uptight, staying in small groups of three or four, but not making much chatter with anyone except within their own groups. It seemed at least one of the group was always on a phone or tablet, and with the suits and dresses being nearly all the same colors and styles, it was hard to pinpoint who was in which group and who was coming or going. They didn’t eat a whole lot either, just a small snack plate with some veggies, maybe a small sandwich or a cookie. Very few of them had drinks in their hand, which was something that Star’s friends were making up for in abundance, he chuckled.

A group of businessfolks moved away from part of the back-window wall they were blocking, and Marco realized there was a glass door there that led somewhere. Leaving his finished plate under a chair, he got up and walked towards the door. The lights in the kitchen blocked most of his view, but as he got to the door, he could see that there was some type of porch or balcony that it led to out there.

“Hot Chocolate Sir?” came a proper prim voice from one of the waitresses.

Marco turned around and saw the waitress holding a platter with two cups of steaming hot chocolate, full of whipped cream and shaved chocolate flecks. “Uh, yeah, thanks! This looks great” he said taking one in his hands, the heat of the mug evidence that it was freshly made.

“If you’re going outside on the balcony Sir, I would recommend taking both of these—it is quite chilly out there” the waitress held up the platter a bit closer to Marco’s face, as if emphasizing her suggestion.

“Oh, uh, right. Ok. Thanks. Will do” Marco chuckled nervously as he grabbed the other one with his other hand, careful not to spill the pipping hot chocolate all over himself. The Waitress smiled and opened the door for him, giving him quick waves of her hand as if to tell him to “move quicker you’re letting all the hot air out”. Marco slipped through the barely opened door and the door was quickly shut behind him.

Marco looked out and saw that the balcony was overlooking a private small lake. There were the trees of a small woods that graced the outline of the far side of the lake, adding texture and depth to the stillness of the lake that lay before him. The light of the moon casted down a glimmer onto the water’s surface—creating a white specter that cut through the night and the eye. It was cold out there—Marco could see his breath and while there wasn’t any snow on the ground or any wind, the brisk air still sunk past his thin sweater and into his bones. He thought about returning back inside for a second, but it was incredibly peaceful and beautiful out here—the noises of the party behind him muffled by the thick glass.

His eye caught a shadowy outline of a person leaned up against the railing on the far right side of the balcony. There was no light from the house casting out on the figure, just the pale glimmer of the moon faintly illuminating the shadows where it stood. Marco blinked a few times, surprised to find someone else out here, and began walking slowly towards the individual. As he got closer, he could see the slender outline of curly hair, the thin outline of a woman hugging her arms, and a red sweater.

Marco came up next to her, about an arms length apart, and set down both cups on the wooden railing they were leaning on. He glanced over, and saw that Star was still staring out at the water, not even acknowledging that someone was standing near her. He slowly scooted over the hot chocolate cup across the smooth railing over towards her, careful not to spill anything in the process.

“Hey. Thought you might need this.”

Star slowly turned her head to get a slight glimpse of Marco, looked at the hot chocolate, and gingerly reached for it, wrapping it in her hands as she stared back out at the lake.

“Thanks. That was nice of you” she softly replied.

“No problem.” He said with a small half smile. He leaned over and put out his arm holding the cup towards Star. “Merry Christumpmas, Star.”

Star looked over at him, and with an equal small half smile, returned the toast with a _clink_ of her own mug. “Merry Christumpmas Marco”.

Both of them took a sip of their hot chocolates, the warmth of the liquid melting its way down their throats, warming up their chests as the heat spread throughout their upper body. Marco sighed pleasantly as he finished his sip. “Dang that’s some good hot chocolate! You sure know how to make them Star.”

“Yeah, I guess” Star softly chuckled. “Most people like dark chocolate for their base but I’m a sucker for milk chocolate. If hot chocolate isn’t sweet, it isn’t worth drinking” she shrugged with a soft smile as Marco chuckled.

“I’d agree with you on that. Otherwise it’s pretty much really sweet decaf” he chuckled shortly as Star just continued to stare out and smile. Marco returned to look out over the still lake, the thin beam of moonlight still casting a specter along the surface of the water. “It’s really beautiful out here” Marco softly mentioned.

“I know, isn’t it just amazing?” Star replied back, taking another small sip of her drink. “It’s so peaceful and calm, it’s one of my favorite things about this house.”

“Your home really is amazing, Tom’s been showing me around, but this view—it’s something else Star…” as the stillness of the lake and the dancing moonbeam enraptured Marco’s concentration. “You’re really lucky to have this, Star” he said with a slight head nod towards her, taking another sip of his drink.

Star paused for a moment before responding. “Yeah… you’re right. It’s an amazing view alright.”

They sat there for a moment in silence, just feeling the cold air and the warm drink harmonizing together in their bodies as they fought for dominance. Marco eventually broke the silence with a question. “So… what are you doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same thing Marco Diaz” she replied with a smirk.

“I’m just exploring your house and found this door in the kitchen. Led me out here and I found you. Though one of the waitresses made me take both of these hot chocolates if I was going outside. Guess that was a good thing I did huh?”

Star silently chuckled as she rubbed her hands around the mug. “Yeah, I guess it was.” She softly replied.

They continued to stare out at the view for another moment. “You still never answered my question” Marco continued with another sip of his drink, a raised eyebrow at Star, who simply sighed and rolled her shoulders.

“I got tired of hosting, I guess. I’ve already talked to nearly everyone here already, and I was starting to get a headache. Feels nice to just be out here alone, enjoying the view, letting the cold sink into your bones…”

“I can leave if you’d like. I don’t want to intrude on your alone time.”

Star shook her head, the curly waves bobbing as she did. “No, no, you’re fine. Actually, it’s nice to have you out here. It was starting to get a bit boring all by myself.”

Marco nodded as they both took another sip. Both of them leaning on the railing and staring out into the night as the slightest of breezes from the lake whispered up to them, bringing the scent of lake water and pine on the brisk air.

After a few moments, Marco spoke again. “It was really awesome last night Star… to see you again.”

Star shifted slightly before answering. “Yeah, it was really good to see you again too. Can’t believe it has been so long” she said taking another sip.

“Yeah, it’s crazy how much time flies huh?” he sighed with a slight chuckle.

“Yeah, lots has changed…” she softly replied, rubbing her hands on the mug once more.

Another moment of silence past. “Hey, I gotta thank you again for inviting me to your party—it’s been fun catching up with everyone and I’m glad I get to see all of you guys again.”

Star chuckled softly. “I’m glad to hear that. I told Tom late last night that you were probably going to come, and he was so happy to hear it, but he was also pretty much asleep, so I don’t think he fully understood when I told him it had been ten years or so since we’ve last seen you. He’s hopeless with time perception you know.”

“Yeah, I know. We actually talked about that a bit during the tour. I remembered how much I missed him, ya know?” he said, looking over at Star with a sad smile.

Star looked up at Marco and returned the same sad smile. “Yeah, I totally get it.”

“And it’s not just Tom—I’m remembering more and more how much I miss how things used to be.”

Star paused as she looked at Marco more intently, gazing into his eye to try and decipher his intent, before looking back out on the view. “Yeah… things change I guess. For better or worse…” she said softly, running a finger around the edge of the now empty mug. “But, uh, it was a lot of fun catching up with you last night! Sorry I didn’t get a chance to do much talking earlier at the party—there’s a lot of guests I have to keep track of at these things” she chuckled and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

Marco chuckled. “Just like old times, huh Star? You were always all over the place when hosting parties. Remember my first Stumpday or the Mewman-Monster ball?”

Star chuckled and shook her head. “Oh please, don’t remind me! Those were some of the worst parties I’ve ever hosted! Rampaging magical mythical deities and Mina aren’t the best combo for a good time.”

“Yeah, well they definitely were memorable!” Marco chuckled deeply as he sighed pleasantly. “Good times, good times.”

“Yeah, they were” Star smiled.

A stronger breeze blew across the balcony, causing both of them to shiver. “Hey Star, do you want to go inside? It’s getting pretty chilly and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all feeling in my feet just being in socks out here.”

“Don’t worry, my feet went numb well before you got here” Star chuckled. “C’mon, there’s another door this way. I don’t feel like going through the kitchen with all those people right now” she motioned over to Marco as they walked towards the edge of the balcony into a shadowy part of the deck where the house cut a corner into the deck. Hidden in shadow, he could hear a door opening as Star stepped into the darkness and the soft muted pitter-patter of feet on carpet reached his ears. Marco stepped in the direction Star went, and after a small _click_ the lights came on, catching Marco slightly off-guard. The room they were in was large yet cozy. There was a large bed on a raised platform near the window of the room, a nice L-shaped sofa facing a fireplace in the back corner, and a bookshelf lining the back wall. Marco closed the door behind them as Star shivered and shook her arms and legs as if she could shake the coldness out of her body. Marco smiled at the sight and rubbed his feet on the carpet to get some feeling back in his icy cold feet.

“Well this is a nice room!” Marco said as he blew into his hands trying to warm them up as well.

“Thanks! It’s the Master Bedroom. Glad you like it” Star said, still shaking her legs as Marco nervously chuckled-coughed, glancing around the suddenly more significant room once more.

“Well, there’s still a good chunk of party left in the evening!” Star said with a small bounce and a clap. “You ready to go out there and have some fun?”

“As long as it’s more fun than my conversation with Janna, then I’m all game for that!” Marco chuckled as Star sighed and put a hand to her head in frustration.

“Oh geez, what did she do to you this time? Did she try to hex you or something?

“What? No! Or at least, I don’t think so” Marco nervously laughed. “No, she just stole my wallet and phone, was being all weird, typical Janna stuff I guess. That was one thing I didn’t miss a whole lot of out in New York” he chuckled.

“Well I’m just glad that Aide didn’t have to save you. Janna can be pretty ruthless sometimes.”

“I mean, she had an assistant that was following her around for the most part. She cut our conversation short—thankgoodness—but yeah I guess now that I think about it she probably was the Aide to the Mayor.”

“Well, that’s true but that woman’s name is also Aide” Star explained as Marco blinked. “Her full name is Aidelyn, but most people call her Aide for short, and since she’s the Aide to the Mayor, it’s a nifty double combo of calling her by her title and her first name”.

“Ooohhh, that makes much more sense” Marco muttered. “I thought Janna was just being super professional or something, which caught me even further off-guard”.

“Welp! Now you know! Ready to head back out there champ?” Star smiled as she reached for the door.

“You betcha!” Marco replied, walking towards Star. As he got close to her, all of a sudden a shock ran through both of their bodies as a static charge jumped from Marco to Star and into the door handle she was reaching for. They both yelped as they looked at each other in startled surprise.

“Hey, what was that for?” Star demanded in a clearly overdramatic fake rage.

“I could ask you the same question!” Marco rebutted with similar fake intensity. “I was just minding my own business and you shocked me!”

“Bold claims Diaz! I’d like to see you back those up!” she grinned mischievously.

“Name it—time and place” he retorted playfully as he opened the door and they began to walk down the hallway towards another room full of people.

“Oh believe me Diaz, it would be right here and right now if it weren’t for all these witnesses!”

“I agree—having so many witnesses here for your defeat would ruin any hopes you’d have of any future parties!”

“OH IS THAT SO?!?” Star mockingly teased. “In your dreams buster! All bark and no bite! Guess that’s why you have Nachos isn’t it?”

“Nacho’s is an emotional support motorcycle. She’ll take you on a happy joy ride to cheer you up after you get completely destroyed by me!”

Marco and Star burst into loud laughter as they turned the corner into one of the party rooms and began mingling once more. They grabbed some drinks as Star introduced Marco to some more of her friends as they talked and laughed the remainder of the night away. Even Miranda found her way back over to Star and Marco as they swapped stories, drank more brandy-wine, and enjoyed the company of others.

What felt like all to soon though, the rooms began to get empty and Star was spending nearly all of her time in the entrance way giving people hugs and saying goodbye. Tom was shaking hands with teams of people and a butler was busy taking down notes as his guests left as well. Marco was feeling a bit tired and a tiny bit lightheaded from all the drinks, so he was sitting on a couch in one of the rooms facing the entrance hall, giving him a prime view of Tom and Star saying goodbye to people and being good hosts.

 _They’re hosting the crap out of all of them!_ Marco thought in between a hiccup. He watched as Tom and Star effortlessly smiled and greeted everyone once more as they left, doing small simple things that had huge impacts like a firm handshake, a small hug, a final comment from a previous conversation, a simple compliment on a jacket. _They’re doing such a good job. And they look happy together. Nice too I guess…_ Marco mumbled as he continued to watch, though starting to notice that they only talked to their own guests and rarely if at all to the other’s guests.

Soon it was only Marco left, sitting on the couch as Tom and Star closed the door for what looked like the last time and let out a long sigh, wiping their brows and making their way back to the room where Marco was sitting. They both plopped down on the couch on opposite sides of Marco and groaned at the same time.

“Toooooooommmmmmm” Star moaned. “We gotta stop doing these things so often—they go on forever and it’s _soooooooo_ exhausting” she moaned, pulling her face down with her hands.

“Ugh, don’t have to tell me twice” Tom groaned, throwing a pillow into his face. “These things get longer and more convoluted every year” he moaned.

Marco chuckled at the sight of his two old friends being exhausted after a party. _Somethings really don’t change_ he mused. “Well, whether you guys have another party or not, I’m glad that y’all invited me out here tonight! It was a ton of fun catching up with both of you after all these years.”

“Not a problem Marco. Thanks for coming, it meant a lot to us” Star said placing a hand gently on his knee as she laid her head on the arm of the couch.

“Yeah man, it was totally awesome! Wish we had more time to catch up though” Tom said staring up at the ceiling. “How much longer are you out here in EcMon?”

“Well, funny thing about that” Marco chuckled. “I own an apartment here now, and I’ll be out here for a while!”

“Wait, really?” Star sat up startled at the news, her tiredness apparently vanishing into thin air. “How come?”

“Well, because I’m syndicated now, a lot of the filming happens out here in the LA area where all the studios are based. We’ll do some site pieces later on, but most of the stuff I’ll film is in LA since it’s also easier to get celebrity guests to come onto the show and stuff. LA is such a mess of a city with the traffic that I can get to work from EcMon on Nachos just as quickly as if I lived in the LA area! Plus, the city isn’t as friendly for Nachos and I missed my hometown! Didn’t realize all of the old gang was still here though” Marco chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! You’re a TV guy now… Star said something about that didn’t you sweetie?... Well dude, that’s good for you!” Tom happily replied, resting his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling. “If you’re now a local again, we’ll have to hang out a bit more often then.”

“Yeah… we definitely should…” Star hesitantly said, though softly enough that Marco barely even heard it.

“I’m not busy at all this week leading up to New Years—we should all do something in like, two or three days. I’m going to need at least a day to rest and recuperate, huh honey?” Tom said rolling over to look at Star.

Star smiled as she looked at Tom and then Marco. “Ye-yeah! That would be fun! It would be nice to not meet up so late at night though” she chuckled somewhat awkwardly.

Marco returned the awkward chuckle. “Yeah, I need a good night’s sleep to be honest, especially after all the drinks I’ve had tonight. It was a good wine batch y’all had” Marco hiccupped as Star did a chuckling eye-roll. “How about this Saturday? That’s 3 days from now and we should all be good to go by that point.”

“Works for me” Tom said with a smile that turned into a slight frown as he rubbed his temples. “Geez, I gotta pace myself better next time with those business folks—it’s exhausting as hell.”

“You would know sweetie” Star chuckled as she pushed herself up with a grunt. She reached out a hand for Marco who took it and also stood up with a grunt and a stretch.

“Alright guys, thanks again! This has been real fun, but I should go home now. I’ve left Nacho’s out in the cold too long and she’s probably not too happy about that.” Marco said walking over to his lone jacket, putting it on and looking for the spot where he hid his boots.

“You good to drive man?” Tom asked from on the couch, still looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his temples. “We can get you a cab or let you stay here for the night.”

Star flinched only momentarily but Marco saw it out of the corner of his eye. “Uh, no, no dude, it’s all good. I’m feeling better now, and plus Nacho’s drives herself. I’ll just make sure I buckle myself nice and tight and she’ll get me home just fine” he hurriedly said trying to force his final boot onto his foot.

“Alright man, suit yourself” Tom said rubbing his temples once more. “I’d get up to say goodbye, but I’m probably not leaving this spot tonight. Get in touch with us in a few days, we’ll figure out what we want to do alright?

“Sounds good bro!” Marco said with a big thumbs up to which Tom returned and closed his eyes again.

“Goodnight Marco. Thank you again for coming. It was really good to see you again and to catch up” Star somewhat softly said. She held open her arms for a hug and Marco opened his up as she slid into an embrace. It was soft, simple, warm, and all to brief when Star double patted him and pulled away. Marco and Star smiled once more, albeit somewhat sadly, as Marco turned around and started to make his way out the door.

“Goodnight guys! Thanks again!” Marco called out as he walked out the large entrance door.

“Goodnight Marco.” Star said with a smile as she hid halfway behind the door.

“Night dude!” came Tom’s holler from around the corner as the door closed.

Marco walked down the sidewalk towards Nachos who was sleeping, a soft purr of her motor the only sound on the street. He patted her head gently as she woke up, her eyes half-lidded until she recognized Marco’s face and scent, which sprung her to life as she licked his face and revved her engine aggressively.

“Hey hey there hot stuff! Good to see you too. Keep it down will ya though? It’s late—people are sleeping” Marco smiled as he hushed her, to which she simmered down into a slight growl of her engine. “Easy tonight girl” he said as he hopped on top of Nachos and began strapping in. “I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, get me home safe and sound, alright?” he said patting her head. Nachos purred and unfolded her wings, and before Marco knew it, they were already up in the air and flying away from Star’s and Tom’s mansion heading back home.

“Hey girl, thanks again for making me go tonight—it was a lot of fun” He whispered-shouted into her ear, and Nachos purred deeply in appreciation.

 _Still though_ , Marco thought as he leaned back in his harness, letting the icy wind beat across his face as he let his body relax. _I’m not entirely sure if seeing her is such a good idea. Between what Janna said and Star’s flinch… geez I don’t know… But I haven’t felt this good around someone in a long, long time…_ he thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep as Nachos sped along.

*********************************************

“Tom! Seriously, are you going to come to bed or just lay there all night?” Star mumbled as she walked to the entrance room parlor in her pajamas. “You’re gonna sleep better if you take a shower and come lay in bed.”

“Naaawww… aww… I’m…good” Tom barely managed to mutter as he laid slouched all over the couch. _He looks terrible_ Star thought as she scratched her back and looked at her husband splayed on the couch. _Ugh, it’s not even worth moving him. I’m just glad he can’t get drunk cause he would be a disaster as a drunk_ Star hiccupped.

“Fine. I’m going to bed—see you in the morning then” she waved absentmindedly as she shuffled back to her room in her slippers. “Good job tonight honey” she weakly called out.

A muffled grunt was all she got before she started hearing slight snores coming from down the hall. _Probably a good thing he’s not sleeping in bed tonight—my drunk butt will sleep better by myself_. _Or that Marco’s not spending the night…then I definitely wouldn’t be sleeping well_ she wearily bemused, rolling into bed and wrapping herself deeply in the covers of the bed. Nestling her head against the soft pillows, she quickly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
